Cell death inhibitor

Abstract

The cell death inhibitor comprising a substance capable of binding to macrophage migration inhibitory factor is useful as a preventive/therapeutic agent for, e.g., heart diseases, neurodegenerative diseases, cerebrovascular diseases, central nervous infections, traumatic diseases, demyelinating diseases, bone/joint diseases, kidney diseases, liver diseases, myelodysplastic diseases, arteriosclerosis, diabetes, pulmonary hypertension, sepsis, inflammatory bowel diseases, autoimmune diseases, failure accompanying rejection in organ transplantation, AIDS, cancer, etc.

1. A method of screening a test compound as a cell death inhibitor, the method comprising determining whether the test compound binds to macrophage migration inhibitory factor, and determining whether the test compound promotes expression of a gene under control of an antioxidant response element selected from the group consisting of Heme oxygenase-1, Liver glutathione S-transferase Ya subunit, Liver glutathione S-transferase Yc subunit, Glutathione S-transferase Yb subunit, Glutathione S-transferase Yc1 subunit, Gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase, NAD(P)H: quinone reductase, UDP-glucuronosyltransferase, exon 1, Bilirunin-specific UDP-glucuronosyltransferase and NAD(P)H-menadione oxidereductase, wherein binding to macrophage migration inhibitory factor and promoting expression of the gene under control of an antioxidant response element indicates that the test compound is a cell death inhibitor. 
     
     
       2. The screening method according to  claim 1 , wherein (i) macrophage migration inhibitory factor is mixed with a labeled compound capable of binding to macrophage migration inhibitory factor; and (ii) the test compound and macrophage migration inhibitory factor are mixed with the labeled compound capable of binding to macrophage migration inhibitory factor; and the binding amounts of the labeled compounds bound to the macrophage migration inhibitory factor are measured in each case, and comparison is made therebetween, to thereby determine whether the test compound binds to macrophage migration inhibitory factor. 
     
     
       3. The screening method according to  claim 1 , wherein the gene under control of an antioxidant response element is heme oxygenase-1.